US: New York City council has voted 31-17 for a motion opposing a pre-emptive military attack on Iraq, after months of debate about whether it should take a position given the city's status as a symbol in the war on terrorism.
"We are saying to the president today, you can no longer use 9/11 as an excuse for war," said Brooklyn Democratic councillor Mr Charles Barron. "There was no linkage of Saddam Hussein to 9/11."
The vote underlined the deep misgivings of New Yorkers at President Bush going to war in their name. In recent statements, Mr Bush accused Saddam Hussein of having links with al-Qaeda, blamed for the deaths of 2,792 people at the World Trade Centre.
"We of all cities must uphold the preciousness and sanctity of human life," said Councilman Alan Gerson, a Manhattan Democrat who voted for the resolution and whose district includes ground zero.
The final wording stated that the council opposes a pre-emptive military attack "unless it is demonstrated that Iraq poses a real and imminent threat to the security and safety of the United States and its allies, or unless all other options for achieving compliance with the United Nations resolutions calling for (disarmament) have failed."
Recent polls show that 75 percent of New Yorkers oppose a war without the support of the United Nations.
A spokesman for Republican Mayor Michael Bloomberg declined to say if he agreed with the motion, adding: "The mayor does not have an interest in formulating a separate foreign policy for New York City."
A total of more than 140 cities and towns across the US, including Chicago, San Francisco and Los Angeles, have passed resolutions opposing war with Iraq.
In Washington four anti-war protesters were arrested at Capitol Building at the start of a week-long campaign by activists committing non-violent acts of civil disobedience.